1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a leg positioning kit and, more particularly, to a leg positioning kit capable of restricting certain movement of the hip following surgery.
2. Description of Related Art
There are a number of issues that result from conducting hip surgery. First, during surgery it is generally necessary to provide traction on the leg in order to hold the bones in the desired position. This traction is often applied by securing the feet to traction plates on a traction table and pulling them away from the hip. As a result of being secured to the traction plates and the traction that is being applied, the feet may be bruised and/or otherwise injured.
Second, during surgery a number of muscles, tendons, and other connective tissue that help maintain the hip in its socket are pulled away or cut in order to provide the surgeon access to the hip joint. After surgery it is important to restrict certain movements of the affected hip in order to promote the healing process of these muscles and connective tissues as well as to prevent dislocation and re-injury of the affected hip. At the same time, it is also undesirable to restrict the movement of the patient's legs more than necessary, in order to help heal and strengthen the muscles surrounding the affected hip joint.
Generally, after surgery the patient is simply placed in a bed and instructed to not move the affected leg in certain directions. Sometimes pillows are also used to help maintain the leg in a desired position. It is often difficult for the patient to prevent undesired movement of the leg, especially while sleeping. In addition, the patient must be frequently rolled into different positions in order to prevent pressure sores from occurring where the patient contacts the bed. This also creates opportunities for the leg to move in an undesirable manner. If the leg is allowed to move in undesired directions, such as rotating, abducting, or adducting, there is a significant chance the hip joint will be dislocated or further injured, thereby prolonging the healing process or even necessitating further treatment or additional surgery.
In some cases, a wedged pillow may be strapped between the patient's legs to restrict motion of the leg. The wider end of the wedge is between the patient's feet and the narrower end between their thighs. By holding the legs against the pillow with straps, abduction and adduction of the hip is restricted. However, this generally does not prevent the rotation of the hip, since only the leg is secured to the pillow with straps, while the foot remains free and allows the leg to rotate. The pillow also unnecessarily prevents the flexion and extension of both the hip and the knee. This prevents the patient from exercising the leg in any way without completely removing the wedged pillow, thereby leaving the leg without any support whatsoever.
Consequently, there is still a need for a simple and inexpensive positioning kit that can restrain the abduction, adduction and rotation of the affected hip while allowing flexion and extension of both the hip and the knee and where the kit can be applied to the patient prior to surgery, both to minimize movement after surgery as well as provide protection for the feet while applying traction during surgery.